Captain J. W. Averill

Captain J.W. Averill, of Grand River, Ohio, was born in Richmond, Ohio, in December 1853, and is a son of John W. and Mary E. Averill, natives of Canadaigua, N. Y., and Fairport, Ohio, who were born in 1817 and 1821 respectively. The father was for several years a master and vessel owner on the Great Lakes, and in 1861 the desire for marine life also influenced the son, who went as boy on several vessels. Prior to this time he had attended school in his native town. The following years he served as mate or master on the Jones, Brooks, Barkalow, Sasco, Fred Kelley, M. R. Warner, Porter, James Couch, George Ely, King Sister, Orphan Boy, Frank Perew and Minnehaha. About 1883 he began the fishing business with gill nets and tugs. By 1885 the business had increased to such proportions that a shipping and packing house was engaged, and he began the use of pound-nets. Today he operates branch houses and fishing stations at Pittsburg, Penn., Fairport and Vermilion, Ohio, and Cheboygan and Munising, Mich. In 1883 Captain Averill built the Helene, the pioneer fishing steamer of the present fleet on Lake Erie, and with this boat the present system of cork and lead on gill-nets was brought to the notice of the home fisherman. The business was greatly increased of late years under the Captain's management, and at present he operates one of the best known fisheries in his vicinity.

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Volume I

This version of Volume II is based, with permission, on the work of the great volunteers at the Marine Captains Biographies site. To them goes the credit for reorganizing the content into some coherent order. The biographies in the original volume are in essentially random order.

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.